Have You Seen These Label Claims?

Today's Dietitian has really been making me happy lately. They recently posted a fabulous article, which talked about label claims. Here are some terms you may have wondered about at one time or another;



1) "Made with expeller-pressed oil"; this means the oil was extracted from its source (typically a nut or seed) by a crushing mechanism, as apposed to a chemical method, which typically uses hexane to chemically extract the oil. Hexane is a petrochemical that is apparently used also for paint diluent. Yuck!


2) "Stoneground wheat flour" or "100% stoneground wheat"; Similar to the term "natural" there really isn't a legal definition for this term. Stoneground wheat is supposedly created by grinding flour solely in stone mills, as apposed to the more commercial method of using a roller mill. Since there is no legal definition for this term companies can claim their product contains "stoneground wheat flour" even if it has only gone through the stone mill once, then was completed using a roller mill. Tricky.

Stoneground wheat is meant to sound less processed, similar to "steel cut oats", which are oats that have been cut rather than rolled. Are they any better for you? In my opinion not really. They may contain a bit more protein and soluble fiber, but I've found that this really depends on the brand.


3) "X grams of whole grains per serving". Ok...so what? This means nothing to those who don't know how many grams of whole grains they need each day. There are 16 grams of whole grains per serving of whole grain, and we need three servings per day. So that means we need a minimum of about 48 grams of whole grains each day. If a product claims to have "8 grams of whole grains per serving", that's half of a full serving of whole grains (eight grams is half of sixteen), and about one-sixth of your daily needs (eight is one-sixth of forty-eight).

These chips provide a little over a serving of whole grain, in one serving of the chips.



4) "High in antioxidants". This is the one that gets to me the most. Have you ever picked up a snack bar or a sugary cereal and seen this claim loud and clear on the box? Vitamins A, C, and E are all antioxidants, which just so happen to be added to most processed foods. Because of this, many processed foods make the claim that they "contain antioxidants" or are "high in antioxidants". It's not a lie, but are these products the best way to get antioxidants? Not at all! Antioxidants work synergistically with other compounds in the food (many times phytonutrients, or plant nutrients), which is what gives them their disease-fighting potential. In these highly processed cereals, snack bars, and even juices, those phytonutrients are typically non-existent, therefore there is no synergism potential.

The best way to get antioxidants is from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, not a snack bar that has had them added, and especially not from a supplement that supplies you a mega dose of antioxidants.


Wild rice contains vitamin E, which is a very powerful antioxidant. Scientists haven't even figured out half of the phytonutrients in whole grains, which may be working with vitamin E to help it provide its vast array of benefits to our bodies.


The same is true when it comes to fruits, vegetables, and fish. We know about many of the healthy components, but not all. There is a symbiotic relationships going on here that you simply can't mimic with fortified foods and supplements.


Including fortified foods, vitamin water, and multivitamins with >>100% of the daily value (DV) of several antioxidants is not in anyone's best interest. Consuming all these antioxidants from unnatural sources can in fact create a pro-oxidant situation in your body. To read more about this I highly suggest reading the book Superfoods Rx by Steven Pratt, MD and Kathy Matthews (see the link on my Amazon Widget to the right).

Want to read more about label claims? Check out some of my past posts;

Probiotic label claims

Food and Supplement Label Claims

Demystifying Label Claims


Thanks for reading!


BTW, don't forget to enter my giveaway, which ends on Saturday!

Demystifying Label Claims

Do you ever read label claims and wonder, "what the heck does this even mean?!". I know I do! This post is meant to clear up some of the confusion when it comes to some very common label claims. SOURCE: ADA TIMES

Natural: While there is no specific definition, the FDA has not objected to the use of this term, as long as it is used in a truthful and non-misleading manor. The product should not contain added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances. The use of the term "natural" cannot be added to ingredients on the ingredient list (for example, a company cannot write, "natural salt"), with the exception of the phrase "natural flavorings". The FDA does not regulate the use of this term, so you've got to trust the company from whom you are buying.


Processed vs. Unprocessed: According to the Farm Bill of 2008, a processed food is one that has "been processed to the point it undergoes a change of character". What does this mean? While many people consider frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, "processed", this apparently is not accurate. Examples include; raw nuts (unprocessed) vs. roasted nuts (processed); edamame (unprocessed) vs. tofu (processed); a head of spinach vs. cut, pre-washed spinach (processed). Does this make you change your view of processed foods? I bet you had no idea tofu was considered processed!



Whole Food: Refers to foods that are not processed, refined, or have added ingredients. There are several different definitions of whole foods, but by most definitions, whole foods would include whole grains, dairy, fresh produce, meat, and fish. Basically, any food that appears in it's most pure form, and which has undergone minimal processing.

Organic (meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy): These animals were not given antibiotics or growth hormones (Defined by the USDA)

Organic (plant foods): Produced without using most conventional pesticides; synthetic fertilizers bioengineering, or ionizing radiation. It is imperative that all farms be inspected to ensure that these standards have been followed, before allowing the "organic claim". There are also USDA standards for organic handling and processing.

Three levels of Organic
100 Percent Organic: Products that are completely organic or made of only organic ingredients qualify for this claim and a USDA Organic seal.


Organic: Products in which at least 95 percent of its ingredients are organic quality for this claim and a USDA Organic seal.


Made with Organic Ingredients: These foods are food products in which at least 70 percent of ingredients are certified organic. The USDA seal may not be used on these packages, but there can be a claim that the product is "made with organic ingredients".

To read more about the USDA Organic Seal, click here

Live and Active Culture: When purchasing yogurt, always look for a claim that the yogurt contains "Live and Active Cultures", not that is was made with them (because all yogurt is made with live and active cultures). This doesn't necessarily mean it has a beneficial amount, but at least you know that there are some live and active cultures. Also look for the Live and Active Cultures seal (below), which represents the fact that the product has at least 100 million viable bacteria at the time of manufacturing. The addition of alternative probiotics (not just the ones used to make the yogurt) makes the yogurt even more unique. Look for probiotics such as L. bulgaricus, B. bifidus, L. casei, and L. reuteri on the ingredient list.



Free Range: Do you by free range chicken or eggs? Keep in mind this does not necessarily mean that the chickens were allowed to roam free all the time. This count possibly mean that the chickens were given access to the outside, but not at all times. "The USDA regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range nor the duration of time an animal must have access to the outside" (Wikepedia). So while it's nice to think that these chickens are 100% free to roam wherever they wish, this is likely not the case.


Antibiotic Free: This doesn't really mean anything other than the fact that at the time of packaging, testing showed zero antibiotics in the animal. The animal could have been given antibiotics throughout its life, but they just so happen to be out of the system by the time of packaging. If you want 100% antibiotic free animal products, look for "Raised without antibiotics", or buy Organic.

Giveaway Update

Chia Seed giveaway!

Coming Up

Tonight Nick and I are going to do a "semi-final" walk through of our two favorite houses. I want one, he wants the other. We will be keeping track of the positives and negatives of each, then reviewing them at the end and hopefully making a decision. I hope this ends well, we've actually been fighting over this house issue a lot lately. This has been much more difficult than I ever imagined. I think we'll need to discuss our choice over a nice beer at our favorite local pub. Yeah, that sounds nice ;) That's what Fridays are for!

This weekend I will be posting about the DHA/EPA and mercury levels in different fish. Until next time, have a great evening!

Food and Supplement Label Claims

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend! Last night Nick and I went bowling with some of my friends, and their husbands, from my dietetic internship. It was pretty fun, despite the fact that we all stunk at bowling. Tonight we are going to dinner with his family, which is always a good time.

I wanted to clear something up before I get into the topic of today's post. On Tuesday when I posted about supplements, Karen reminded to explain to my readers that supplements are not evaluated by the FDA prior to going on the market. I failed to mention that, but it's an important piece of information to point out. Supplements are treated life foods, rather than drugs. It's actually up to the manufacturer to make sure supplements are safe and efficacious. But you know manufacturer's are only out to make money, so can they be trusted? Some can, others can't, that's the risk you take. If you remember anything, remember this; NATURAL IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH SAFE! You also never know about the quality of a supplement, or whether what is reported on the label is actually what you are consuming, as this is not evaluated by the FDA either. However, there are third party companies that will come in and analyze the quality of supplements. The manufacturer pays extra for this service.

Remember to look for these symbols, which will indicate that a supplement has been tested for quality, contamination, and proper strength:

Nutrition Tidbit
Label Claims
There are three different types of label claims, two of which I will discuss here.

#1) Health Claims

Definition: Health claims link a nutrient in a food or supplement with the decreased risk of a certain disease or condition.

Regulation: The FDA is responsible for making sure foods and supplements make health claims that are not false and misleading. Normally the FDA will review a health claim prior to the product being put on the market. There are many qualified health claims, which you can view here. Does the FDA actually test the food or supplement to make sure it actually contains what the health claim says? Nope. That would just take too long, even though it would be nice.

If a product's health claim is ever brought into question, the FDA will re-analyze the claim. A good example would be Cheerios, which in May of 2009 was brought to the attention of the FDA because their claim to help reduce cholesterol and thus reduce heart disease wasn't really stated clearly, or in an appropriate manor.

Some Examples of Health Claims

- " This food is an excellent source of calcium, which has been shown to decrease risk for osteoporosis."

- "This product is low in sodium. Low sodium diets may help prevent high blood pressure."
- "The fiber in this product has been shown to decrease risk for some types of cancer."
# 2) Structure/Function Claims

Definition: Structure/Function claims link a certain nutrient in a product or supplement with a certain function in the body.

Regulation: How many time have you read a food or supplement label and thought to yourself, "Who regulates these? How can this company make this claim?!". The FDA doesn't regulate these claims until after they have been on the market, and after someone suggests to the FDA that the claim should be reviewed (similar to the Cheerios example, with the claim to "help reduce cholesterol", which was written in a way that made it sound like Cheerios was a drug that could be used as a cholesterol lowering agent).

Some Examples of Structure/Function Claims

-  Calcium can build strong bones

-  Fiber can keep you regular

Supplements are required to have the FDA disclaimer for all structure/function claims.

"This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease"

Question: Would you like to add anything to my label claim discussion?

Question: Any fun plans for tonight??

Coming Up

On Monday I will be posting my comparison of two new Greek yogurts! I also have some great quotes to share with you from my favorite book, "Slowing Down to the Speed of Life".

Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for reading.